Game 73: Clippers (38-34) visit Raptors (54-19) on 03/25 @ 6:00 PM

[ducler]

[Galloisdaman]

2.5 games back with 10 games to go. May have to go 8-2 to even have a chance.

[Neddy]

if the choice is between getting into the playoffs to get swept in the first round versus getting a spot or two ahead in the draft, I will take the latter at this point.

[Galloisdaman]

if the choice is between getting into the playoffs to get swept in the first round versus getting a spot or two ahead in the draft, I will take the latter at this point.

I understand your thinking and logic but I still want the playoffs. I do not mind the underdog roll. What if Houston loses 16 games all season and then loses game 1 in the playoffs?

[Neddy]

if the choice is between getting into the playoffs to get swept in the first round versus getting a spot or two ahead in the draft, I will take the latter at this point.

I understand your thinking and logic but I still want the playoffs. I do not mind the underdog roll. What if Houston loses 16 games all season and then loses game 1 in the playoffs?

then we lose 1-4.

CP3+Harden are two superstars who are just killing it with a great supporting cast. they actually have a shot against the Warriors I think, still the favor is on GS. on the other hand, our best offensive guard is Lou the Matador defender. you don't expect Austin to lock Harden down now, do you? if we slide a spot or two and if that becomes the difference between say, grabbing Trae Young or Sexton over the second tier prospects like Robert Williams, then yeah it matters a lot, and at least to me, getting a better prospect for 2019 is a better proposition than seeing the clips make the playoffs for 7th(?) season in a row just to watch another first round exit, but this time in a crushing manner with no game 6 or 7 in sight.

but, that's just me. and it also does not mean I will cheer against my Clips. it's all about thinking about the future for me as we should be in a full blown rebuild. but I can respect the fanbase who wants the playoff run. I also respect Ballmer for not being cheap nor trying to lose intensionally like the 6ers did for a what seems like a decade since AI.

[Galloisdaman]

if the choice is between getting into the playoffs to get swept in the first round versus getting a spot or two ahead in the draft, I will take the latter at this point.

I understand your thinking and logic but I still want the playoffs. I do not mind the underdog roll. What if Houston loses 16 games all season and then loses game 1 in the playoffs?

then we lose 1-4.

CP3+Harden are two superstars who are just killing it with a great supporting cast. they actually have a shot against the Warriors I think, still the favor is on GS. on the other hand, our best offensive guard is Lou the Matador defender. you don't expect Austin to lock Harden down now, do you? if we slide a spot or two and if that becomes the difference between say, grabbing Trae Young or Sexton over the second tier prospects like Robert Williams, then yeah it matters a lot, and at least to me, getting a better prospect for 2019 is a better proposition than seeing the clips make the playoffs for 7th(?) season in a row just to watch another first round exit, but this time in a crushing manner with no game 6 or 7 in sight.

but, that's just me. and it also does not mean I will cheer against my Clips. it's all about thinking about the future for me as we should be in a full blown rebuild. but I can respect the fanbase who wants the playoff run. I also respect Ballmer for not being cheap nor trying to lose intensionally like the 6ers did for a what seems like a decade since AI.

Or the pressure becomes big on them that all of a sudden this 8th seed can play with this number 1 seed.
The odds are against the Clippers even getting in. I would not mind playing Houston though.

[Neddy]

I understand your thinking and logic but I still want the playoffs. I do not mind the underdog roll. What if Houston loses 16 games all season and then loses game 1 in the playoffs?

then we lose 1-4.

CP3+Harden are two superstars who are just killing it with a great supporting cast. they actually have a shot against the Warriors I think, still the favor is on GS. on the other hand, our best offensive guard is Lou the Matador defender. you don't expect Austin to lock Harden down now, do you? if we slide a spot or two and if that becomes the difference between say, grabbing Trae Young or Sexton over the second tier prospects like Robert Williams, then yeah it matters a lot, and at least to me, getting a better prospect for 2019 is a better proposition than seeing the clips make the playoffs for 7th(?) season in a row just to watch another first round exit, but this time in a crushing manner with no game 6 or 7 in sight.

but, that's just me. and it also does not mean I will cheer against my Clips. it's all about thinking about the future for me as we should be in a full blown rebuild. but I can respect the fanbase who wants the playoff run. I also respect Ballmer for not being cheap nor trying to lose intensionally like the 6ers did for a what seems like a decade since AI.

Or the pressure becomes big on them that all of a sudden this 8th seed can play with this number 1 seed.
The odds are against the Clippers even getting in. I would not mind playing Houston though.

just to entertain your thought, IF the Clips were to get past the first round, DJ has to play like DPOY and own the paint, and dominantly doing so. I don't see any other position we can take an advantage that can translate into a playoff series win. winning a game or even two by luck and offensive explosion we are capable of, yes... but winning the series, will require Dikembe's magic to be the 8th seed cinderella.

[Galloisdaman]

then we lose 1-4.

CP3+Harden are two superstars who are just killing it with a great supporting cast. they actually have a shot against the Warriors I think, still the favor is on GS. on the other hand, our best offensive guard is Lou the Matador defender. you don't expect Austin to lock Harden down now, do you? if we slide a spot or two and if that becomes the difference between say, grabbing Trae Young or Sexton over the second tier prospects like Robert Williams, then yeah it matters a lot, and at least to me, getting a better prospect for 2019 is a better proposition than seeing the clips make the playoffs for 7th(?) season in a row just to watch another first round exit, but this time in a crushing manner with no game 6 or 7 in sight.

but, that's just me. and it also does not mean I will cheer against my Clips. it's all about thinking about the future for me as we should be in a full blown rebuild. but I can respect the fanbase who wants the playoff run. I also respect Ballmer for not being cheap nor trying to lose intensionally like the 6ers did for a what seems like a decade since AI.

Or the pressure becomes big on them that all of a sudden this 8th seed can play with this number 1 seed.
The odds are against the Clippers even getting in. I would not mind playing Houston though.

just to entertain your thought, IF the Clips were to get past the first round, DJ has to play like DPOY and own the paint, and dominantly doing so. I don't see any other position we can take an advantage that can translate into a playoff series win. winning a game or even two by luck and offensive explosion we are capable of, yes... but winning the series, will require Dikembe's magic to be the 8th seed cinderella.

William H. Bonney: "I like these odds"

[nickhx2]

i'm pretty split. honestly getting into the playoffs would be such a huge accomplishment, all things considered. and the feeling of getting in for a franchise with a woeful history isn't at all insignificant. watching a clippers team in the playoffs is a delight to me.

but the team doesn't stand to do well with the juggernauts in play. and if we had a team full of young stars, i'd definitely say the playoffs are extremely valuable because the experience for learning stars is huge. but we don't have any of those guys.

so for me, i look at it like that one extra rank in the draft order might mean the difference in whom we draft or whom we trade for. or those extra balls might roll our way. we're still definitely 1-2 stars away from being really happy with our team but i see it as every bit counting. so i'm ok with not making the playoffs and i think it's better for the team.

[esqtvd]

on the other hand, our best offensive guard is Lou the Matador defender. you don't expect Austin to lock Harden down now, do you?

IIRC, last game Austin guarded CP and held him to 11 points [3-13], scoring 20 himself [10-18]. Sindarius got Harden, who outscored him 24-6. [Not that that reflects badly on Sindarius--he didn't get eaten alive. Harden went 7-16 and 2-8 from distance.]

We also didn't have Gallo, CJ, or Ty Wallace and only lost by 5. I think we'd be lucky to win even one game in a playoff series vs. HOU, but I think we could hang without being embarrassed if we were at full strength.

CJ and Ty come back today [edit: Tuesday], and Gallo hopes to play on the 27th vs the Bucks at Staples. Hey, everything's a longshot at this point but let's go down swinging!

“Listen, I’ve been here for four years and I’ve only ever been to the playoffs. I told DJ (DeAndre Jordan) the same thing. I said, ‘I’m not trying to go backwards.’ And if we do lose and we don’t make the playoffs, we at least go into the summer like, ‘You know what? We gave it everything we got.”--AR25

[Wammy Giveaway]

Let me add to Neddy's argument. Clippers making the playoffs as the 8th seed to face the Rockets would be the worst thing in the world. You're basically gifting them an automatic entry to the western conference finals. Look at who's on the roster.

Chris Paul, the very man who single handedly turned around a moribund, snake bitten, hopeless franchise into an honest relevant one despite six years of being stuck between the 1st and 2nd rounds. The Clippers, a franchise who was once owned by the EVIL Donald Sterling, couldn't even make the playoffs without Chris Paul, and at one point, had a 15-year playoff drought. Chris Paul, who David Stern previously vetoed a trade that would have sent him to the Clipper's arch nemesis and Big Brother Los Angeles Lakers, became the savior for the Little Brother dressed in American colors. And now, by entering the playoffs, you will be going up against the former savior who now hates the team's guts, despises Doc Rivers for being duped into believing his championship mystique, and wants revenge for putting him on the wrong side of the history books. He now leads the league in playoff games (76) without ever reaching the conference finals, behind Thurl Bailey and Kiki Vandewege.

Chris Paul would love it if his 1st round opponent would be the Clippers; not only are they easy-peazy, they're good luck charms. In the past, teams who've defeated the Clippers in the playoffs have all reached the conference finals or further, and almost always in drought-breaking or franchise-altering fashion. The Grizzlies in 2013 made the conference finals for the first time in franchise history, and they got it by defeating the Clippers in the 1st round, so did the Jazz in 1992. The Rockets in 2015 broke a 20-year conference finals drought with their 3-1 comeback. Paul will use the Clippers as motivation to exorcise his playoff demons, sucking the Clippers dry of whatever winning aura that remains, until they are back to being the losers we once knew them as. Paul defeating the Clippers would be the ultimate bookend to the Lob City Era.

In other words, the Clippers just gave Chris Paul a 1st round bye. Literally and figuratively.

[nickhx2]

you don't know what the word literally means then

literally

[mkwest]

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[nickhx2]

easier with only one big big clogging the middle, isn't it

[esqtvd]

way lucky to be down only 7 at the half after falling behind by 18 in the first 6 minutes

_________________________________

ADD: Spirited 27-20 3rdQ to tie it at 80! Trezz keeping us in it but

WeJo having a sneaky-good game with 3 three-pointers and holding DeRozan to 5 pts so far on 1-8 shooting

[Downtown]

Blazers fan here. But I live up in Vancouver and get just about all the Raptors games here. I don’t want to jinx your team since the game isn’t over but I think even though you traded two star players in Paul and Griffin your team is playing way better as a “team”. The defence looks more hungry than the last couple of years.

Whether or not you make the playoffs it’s a transition year and with your draft picks and a year of players learning to trust each other I can see the Clippers being in a good position for next season. Not complete but trending the right direction.

Ask any team in the league to trade their top two stars and they will be worse off than what your team is showing.

[Quake Griffin]

I was in the office following the score.

How did we pull that off?


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[esqtvd]

I was in the office following the score.

How did we pull that off?


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Bobi came into a tie game and played the first 6 minutes of the 4thQ, +10. It was up to +16 but the magic started fading so Doc brought the starters back with 6 minutes to go.

Defensively, Austin [4 steals] held Lowry to 6 points until a few meaningless baskets at the end, and WeJo and Sindarius tag-teamed to hold DeRozan to 11 points on 3-12 shooting.

And then Lou took over, hitting everything--18 points in the 4thQ, which we won 37-26. Total team win.

[TheNewEra]

Nice win

[esqtvd]

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